❓ The Minister for Police updates the house on the government's efforts to combat hoon driving, including increased vehicle impoundment periods and community reporting mechanisms. Future legislative changes are planned to further address the issue.
AnsweredQoN 61Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOON DRIVERS
61. Mr P. ABETZ to the Minister
for Police:
Could the minister update the house on how the government is
tackling the problem of hoon drivers in the community, and advise how members
of the community can assist the WA Police in this effort?
61. Mr P. ABETZ to the Minister
for Police:
Could the minister update the house on how the government is
tackling the problem of hoon drivers in the community, and advise how members
of the community can assist the WA Police in this effort?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Southern
River for his question and for his continued interest in getting hoon drivers
off our roads.
Mr
P.B. Watson : Have you seen him drive?
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : The member opposite should withdraw that comment.
The
SPEAKER : Minister, just answer the question, please.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : The Liberal–National government has worked very hard
on combatting this problem of hoon drivers in the community. I thank the member
for Southern River for the opportunity to meet some of his constituents, as we
did in Huntingdale on Saturday afternoon, to discuss these issues. These people
who live with their streets being terrorised in certain circumstances by hoon
drivers on our roads were very concerned about hooning in the community, and
our discourse was very interesting.
Since we came to government five
years ago, we have increased the period for which a vehicle is impounded for a
hoon offence from seven to 28 days on the first offence, and from 28 days to
three months for a second offence.
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for a third time. If you shout out
again I will ask you to leave the chamber.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : On the third and subsequent offence, the vehicle is confiscated.
The proceeds of the sale of a confiscated vehicle go to road safety initiatives
through the road trauma trust account. Vehicles of little value as well as
unroadworthy vehicles are crushed. We have also provided community crime
prevention program funding for mobile speed humps, and the member for Southern
River's community were quite interested in that program, as I recall.
For the interest of members, in
January 2014 we impounded 116 hoon vehicles in one month. No longer can these
116 idiots drive their vehicles on our roads, which is having an impact on this
scourge in our community. Members of the community play an important role in
this space by reporting hoon drivers to the police, and we encourage the
community to call the police assistance centre on 131 444 to report hooning
activity when they see it. In addition, we encourage members of the community
to write down the numberplates and description of hoon vehicles and call it
through to the assistance centre or go online to the police website. When a
person logs onto the police website at www.police.wa.gov.au, they can go to a
section called ''contact us'' and report a range of offences. The
website walks people through that process. The information submitted through
that website is investigated by police and used to follow up on hoon drivers.
Some of our tactics may be to track down the vehicle registration number, and
quite often these vehicles have illegal after-market modifications and may be
issued with a yellow sticker that also serves to get it off the road. The
government has taken some very bold steps in the space of hooning and will push
this further.
On 27 February 2013, which was
during the election campaign, we made some announcements about what we would do
in the space of hooning, and soon we will make some amendments to the Road
Traffic Act to commit courts to order the confiscation of vehicles for reckless
driving or wilful burnouts in built-up areas, particularly when an offence
causes harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons, damage to
property, or was committed in an active school zone. We will also ensure that
all hoon offences committed on built-up roads—those with a
50-kilometre-per-hour or less speed limit—will be subject to
presumptive confiscation on a second rather than a third offence.
We will also change the legislation to allow the immediate
and permanent confiscation of trail bikes. Trail bikes are not licensed for
road use, and this legislation will allow for the confiscation of those bikes
on a first offence provided the bike is the offender's; that is, it is
not stolen. Should the bike belong to the offender or their parents, it will be
confiscated if driven on the road. Unlike members opposite, we have bold, well
thought out policy proposals in this space.
Several members interjected.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
was listening for a policy opportunity in this space from those opposite. When
we announced our policies about hoons during the election campaign, there was
silence from those opposite—no policy, no strategy, nothing. There was
no plan whatsoever for the community and no plan to combat hooning or
antisocial behaviour on our roads. The policy vacuum on the opposition side of
the house is the reason we were elected in March 2013. The community endorsed
our policies, and I look forward to bringing our legislation to the house.
River for his question and for his continued interest in getting hoon drivers
off our roads.
Mr
P.B. Watson : Have you seen him drive?
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : The member opposite should withdraw that comment.
The
SPEAKER : Minister, just answer the question, please.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : The Liberal–National government has worked very hard
on combatting this problem of hoon drivers in the community. I thank the member
for Southern River for the opportunity to meet some of his constituents, as we
did in Huntingdale on Saturday afternoon, to discuss these issues. These people
who live with their streets being terrorised in certain circumstances by hoon
drivers on our roads were very concerned about hooning in the community, and
our discourse was very interesting.
Since we came to government five
years ago, we have increased the period for which a vehicle is impounded for a
hoon offence from seven to 28 days on the first offence, and from 28 days to
three months for a second offence.
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for a third time. If you shout out
again I will ask you to leave the chamber.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : On the third and subsequent offence, the vehicle is confiscated.
The proceeds of the sale of a confiscated vehicle go to road safety initiatives
through the road trauma trust account. Vehicles of little value as well as
unroadworthy vehicles are crushed. We have also provided community crime
prevention program funding for mobile speed humps, and the member for Southern
River's community were quite interested in that program, as I recall.
For the interest of members, in
January 2014 we impounded 116 hoon vehicles in one month. No longer can these
116 idiots drive their vehicles on our roads, which is having an impact on this
scourge in our community. Members of the community play an important role in
this space by reporting hoon drivers to the police, and we encourage the
community to call the police assistance centre on 131 444 to report hooning
activity when they see it. In addition, we encourage members of the community
to write down the numberplates and description of hoon vehicles and call it
through to the assistance centre or go online to the police website. When a
person logs onto the police website at www.police.wa.gov.au, they can go to a
section called ''contact us'' and report a range of offences. The
website walks people through that process. The information submitted through
that website is investigated by police and used to follow up on hoon drivers.
Some of our tactics may be to track down the vehicle registration number, and
quite often these vehicles have illegal after-market modifications and may be
issued with a yellow sticker that also serves to get it off the road. The
government has taken some very bold steps in the space of hooning and will push
this further.
On 27 February 2013, which was
during the election campaign, we made some announcements about what we would do
in the space of hooning, and soon we will make some amendments to the Road
Traffic Act to commit courts to order the confiscation of vehicles for reckless
driving or wilful burnouts in built-up areas, particularly when an offence
causes harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons, damage to
property, or was committed in an active school zone. We will also ensure that
all hoon offences committed on built-up roads—those with a
50-kilometre-per-hour or less speed limit—will be subject to
presumptive confiscation on a second rather than a third offence.
We will also change the legislation to allow the immediate
and permanent confiscation of trail bikes. Trail bikes are not licensed for
road use, and this legislation will allow for the confiscation of those bikes
on a first offence provided the bike is the offender's; that is, it is
not stolen. Should the bike belong to the offender or their parents, it will be
confiscated if driven on the road. Unlike members opposite, we have bold, well
thought out policy proposals in this space.
Several members interjected.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : I
was listening for a policy opportunity in this space from those opposite. When
we announced our policies about hoons during the election campaign, there was
silence from those opposite—no policy, no strategy, nothing. There was
no plan whatsoever for the community and no plan to combat hooning or
antisocial behaviour on our roads. The policy vacuum on the opposition side of
the house is the reason we were elected in March 2013. The community endorsed
our policies, and I look forward to bringing our legislation to the house.
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